Harby e



H. E. PHELPS. couPLlNG, APPLICATION FILED 050.13, 1919.

Patented NOV. 29, 1921.

HARRY E. PHELPS,VOF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB T0 C. KENYON COMPANY .1NC., OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, Al CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

i. Fig.

ooUPLiNG.

To aZZ'wLo/m't'mag concern.'

Be it known that l, HARRY E. PHELPS, a citizen of the United States, residing at 839 East 19th St., Brooklyn, in the county of Kings `and State of New York, `have invented certain new and useful mproveber made up 'in various ways according to the' particular type of casing desired to be manufactured. Y

In the vulcanizing or curing of these casings, it is ofcourse necessary to subject them to a temperature' which causes the softening or melting of 'the rubber, and it is thereforek necessary to, keep these casings under great pressure during the vulcanization period, so

Lthat the complete and cured shoes should have the predetermined shape desired.

For this purpose, pneumatic air bags or inner tubes have been usedjfor many years and to keep these airbags in proper shape :during'the curing process, air has been sup plied to them Vunder great pressure, as high as two hundred andiifty pounds persquare inch, and thisvair .has become heated as a result of the necessary :tempera-turefor the vulcanizing process.v

The great pressure and heat of cthe air lin these air bags has inadethe problem of manufacturing the necessary couplings one of great technical difiiculty. It is impossible to use washers for makingtheY coupling airtight,-with 'any degree ofl efiiciency, because the heat to which these couplings are subjected is so greatv that ordinary washers burn up after having `been used a few times.

It has `been universal practice in the art to use unions connected by threading for making the necessary-connections, and this expedient Yhas been recognizedV `for many years as being unsatisfactory, as the making of the necessary connections tooka great deal Vof time and the arrangement Vwas a very clumsy one.

According to my improved construction a very-reliable and simple connection or coupling is provided, `which 'Cali ibe 'thrownvv into Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nev. 2e, 192i.

Application filed December 13, 1919. Serial No. 344,538.

andA outY of operation by a turn of a lever andwhich may be independent of any washers if this is desired.

Other objects Vof my construction will be i elevation' partially in Fig. 5 is a section along the line 5-5 of Y Fig. 1i.

As shown more particularly in Figs. land 4, the connecting members of my improved coupling consist of anfentering part 1 and an entered part' 2. vA pipe 3 leading to the source olf heated air under pressure is Vthreaded or connected in any other suitable manner to the entered member 2 and pipe 41is lalso threaded or secured in any gther suitable manner to the entering mem- The entering member 1 hasa seat portionA 4 which is preferably conical in form, and which is ground so as to afford a very tightly fitting' seat for the adjacent part of the entered member 2, which should be of exactly "the same shape and which is also ground so as 'to rprovide tight fit with the seat portion 4 when the entered member and the entering member are pressed together with sufficient force. Y

As shown more particularly in Fig. 4, the entering member 1 has a proj ection'5 which projects from the seat portion 4.

A movable bridge 6 is Islipped over the `pipe 41 before the cross-pipe 7 isrsecured thereto, and this bridgef is adapted to abut firmly against the base of the entering member 1, and 'is adapted to revolve around the pipe 41.

The bridge 6 as shown more particularly in Figs. 4 and 5 is provided with a nose 8 and VAa fork 9. Y

A :link 10 having a forked top as clearly shown in Fig. 2 is pivoted by any'suitable means 1ait 11 to the entered member V2, and the other side of the entered member 2 is formed into a hook 12 which 'is' adapted to iitfunder and against the nose 8, and abut against the flange 14 of the said nose 8.

The-bridge 6 -3nd the part of the entered vhave been finally locked by moving the lever 15 to the position shown in Fig. 1.

This enables the seat portions of the en-- tered member and the entering member to have proper contact and be rmly pressed one against the other even though their initial position, as the locking operation is being completed, is such as to have the seat portions slightly out of line. This shifting movement is very slight, butl it is sufiicient in actual practice to secure efficient operation `of the parts. f i

A cam lever 15 is pivoted 'at 16 to the link .l0 as clearly shown in. Figs. 1 and 2, and is provided with a top whose-curvature is so proportioned to the curvature of the bottom of the fork 9, that byforcing the cam lever 15 fromthe position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, to the position shown in full lines while the hook 12 is underneath the nose 8, kthe entered member 2 and the entering member 1 can be forced together very powerfully so that their corresponding portions are forced together so as to it very tightly. The parts can be made of any suitable metal or alloy which may have a Very slight yield when the force is applied by the operation of the cam lever 15 so as to insure the tightest possible fit at the seat portion 4 and the correspondingly shaped seat portion of the entered member 2.

The operation of my device is as follows The bridge 6 is slipped over the pipe and is held either in the position shown in Fig. 4, when it is substantially parallel to the cross pipe 7, or it can be 'swung as shown in dotted lines in Figs. 4 and 5 until it` is at right-angles to this position.

Of course, the bridge Ycan be revolved s as `to present any desired angle to the pipe 7 which leadsI to the pneumatic cores.

The lever 15 is then held substantially at right angles to the pipe 41 and is revolved inwardly and toward the pipe 41 so that its cam top can just pass under the toe 2() of the fork 9.

The lever 15 is then revolved around the pivot 16 until it is in the'positionshown in Fig. 4 and substantially parallel to the pipe 41, the action of the cam top of lever-15 producing a very powerful forcing together of the entered member and the' entering in case the workman is careless about put- Y ting the parts into the proper position.

' Due' to the downwardly projecting toe 20 of the bridge 9, the cam action of the top of the lever luautomatically locks it into the vertical position shown in Fig. 4, so that there is considerable resistance to any careless displacing of the parts from the operativeJ position shown in Fig. 4.

It is impossible to place the parts into inoperative position without revolving the lever 15 into a substantiallyhorizontal position, so that itsv top can clear the toe 20.

By the arrangement and combination of parts above described, it is possible to make a connection or coupling very quickly and with a minimum of skilled labor and the parts can be used over and over again Without the need of any Washers being used, if this is desired. Y

I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention but it is clear thatnumerous changes and omissions could be made with# out departing from its spirit and I do not desire to be limitedto the details herein describedv as these could be -varied and omitted without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim i Y 1. A coupling for the air bags used in the vulcanization of the casings of pneumatic tires, comprising an entered member and an entering memberhaving co-act'ing seat portions of substantially unalterable form and fastening means for said members including co-acting parts capable of movement With said members, and constituting the sole means for enabling said members to be forcibly drawn together and held in locked position.

2. A coupling for the air bags used in the vulcanization of the casings of pneumatic tires, comprising an entered member and an entering'- member having engaging seat portions of substantially unalterable form and fastening means for said members Aincluding co-acting parts capable of movement with said members, and constituting the sole means for enabling said members to be forcibly drawn together `and held in locked position, said parts being free to be relatively shifted as said members are drawn together.

3. A coupling for the airbags'used in the vulcanization of the casings of pneumatic tires, comprising an entered member and an entering member having seat portions made of hard unyielding material, of fastening means for said members having two com-L plementary parts, each .said part beingassociated with one of said members, said parts being relatively movable with respect to each other in a plane perpendicular to the common aXis'of said members before vthey are locked in their Vfinal position, the

said complementary fastening parts being capable of being relatively moved so as to draw said members together with varying force, and locking m'eans'of such configuration that they tend to remain in the position in which said members arev drawn together With the maximum force to which they have been 'subjected by said locking means.

4c. A coupling for the air bags used in the vulcanization of the casings of pneumatic tires and comprising an entered member and an entering member Yhaving coacting seat portions of substantially unalterable form, fastening means associated with the said members including a bridge fulcrumedon one of said members and movable with the other member and locking means including a revoluble cam member coperating with the bridge for forcing the said fastening means together so as to forcibly draw .the

said members together and hold them in locked position.

5. A coupling for the air bags used in the vulcanization of the casings of pneumatic tires, comprising an entered member and an entering member having coacting seat portions of substantially unalterable form,

and fastening means for said members including a fulcrumed bridge independent of said members and co-acting parts capable of movement with said members, and constituting the sole means for enabling said members to be forcibly drawn together and held in locked position,

6. In a coupling for the air bags used in the vuleanization of thecasings of pneumatic tires, the combination of an entered member capable of having a pipe secured thereto and having' one of its ends shaped into a hook-like form, an entering member having a pipe secured thereto, 4a perforated bridge capable of being slipped over the said pipe, the said hook-like end being adapted to slip under the nose of the said bridge to form a fulcrum for the bridge, and means carriedV by the other end of the said entered member adapted to cooperate with the other end of the said bridge so as y to cause the said two members to be tightly forced against each other, said members being relatively shiftable as they are forced together. y

7. In a coupling for the air bags used in the vulcanization of the casings of pneumatic tires, the combination of an entered member capable of having a pipe secured thereto and having a laterally tapered hook-like end, an entering member having a pipe secured thereto, a perforated bridge capable of being slipped over the said last mentioned pipe so as to be freely revolved thereon, the nose like-shape, so as to force the said enteredv member and the said entering member tightly together,- the said link passing between the arms of said fork-like end whenA the parts are in operative position.

8. In a coupling for the air bags used in the vulcanizationv of the casings of pneumatie tires, the combination of lan entered member capable of having a pipe secured thereto and having a laterally tapered hooklike end, an entering member having a pipe secured thereto, a perforated bridge capable of being slipped over the said last mentioned pipe so as t0 be freely revolved thereon, theV nose of the said bridge being provided with a lateral flange, the said hook-like end being adapted to be moved under the said nose to abut against the said flange, the other end of the said entered member having a link pivoted thereto, the said link having a cam lever pivoted thereto, the said cam lever being adapted to cooperate with the other end of the said bridge which is of a forklike shape, so as to force the said entered member and the said entering member tightly together, the said link passing between the arms of said fork-like end when the parts are in operative position,

the said fork-like end having a toe at the bottom thereof which hinders the displacement of the said cam lever unless it is first revolved out of operative position.

9. A coupling for the air bags used in the vulcanization of the casings of pneumatic tires, comprising an entered member and an entering member having coacting and substantially unalterable seat portions of a substantially conical shape and locking means for locking the said members together, said locking means permitting a slight shifting of said members when their locking force exerted, the said lockingmeans being of such conguration that they tend to remain in the position in which the said members are locked together with the greatest force, the force exerted by the said locking means being taken up solely by the said substan- Ysuch structure that they tend to remain in the position into which they have been 'forced and in which the entering member is urged With the greatest force Vinto said entered member so as to then :1ct as a lock, the seid manually-operated means being so connected to said members that they permit u slight relative shifting of seidv members during the movement of said means to locking position.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

HARRY E. PHELPS 

